18 May 2021 | Publication
How can democracy and governance programs be more effective in post-conflict environments?
10 Mar 2021 | Multimedia
IFES held a Voter Education Film Festival to share best practices, gather examples from around the world and create a video repository for IFES teams to use and refer back to.
14 Sep 2020 | News and Updates
An estimated 5 million young people will be eligible to vote for the first time in Myanmar’s 2020 elections. On August 15, IFES brought together young leaders from across Myanmar to participate in...
23 Jun 2020 | News and Updates
This month, we are celebrating #CEPPSGlobalPride! IFES interviewed U Kaung Zaw Htet, program director at Civil Authorize Negotiate Organization, about their work to support LGBTI equality in Myanmar.
1 Apr 2020 | News and Updates
Last month, IFES and Future Stars, a self-advocacy organization, trained four new trainers with intellectual disabilities on how to build self-confidence to effectively and meaningfully participate...
6 Mar 2020 | News and Updates
Launched ahead of Myanmar's 2020 elections, the “Advanced She Leads” program will support 40 women leaders to effect positive change in their communities.
13 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
Since 2007 when the United Nations General Assembly designated September 15th as the International Day of Democracy, organizations – governmental and nongovernmental – have joined with others to...
9 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
On August 10, 280 young people gathered in Mandalay, Myanmar, to celebrate International Youth Day. In line with this year’s global theme of “Transforming Education,” the event kicked off IFES’...
19 Feb 2019 | News and Updates
On January 30, IFES and the General Election Network for Disability Access trained advocates from disabled people’s organizations and election-focused civil society organizations on the reporting...
11 Feb 2019 | News and Updates
On January 29, IFES and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Disability Forum signed a Memorandum of Understanding to continue coordinating efforts to increase access to political rights...
10 Dec 2018 | News and Updates
On November 1-4, 2018, the General Election Network for Disability Access organized a communications and advocacy training of disabled people’s organizations and civil society organizations from...
3 Dec 2018 | News and Updates
The annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, held on December 3, commemorates the human rights of persons with disabilities. The theme for this year’s International Day of Persons with...
26 Nov 2018 | Publication
In response to a recent study by Max Grömping entitled The Integrity of Elections in Asia: Policy Lessons from Expert Evaluations, IFES produced a briefing paper with some examples of policy...
9 Nov 2018 | News and Updates
On November 6, 2018, IFES and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) celebrated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which reaffirms the longstanding relationship between IFES and...
6 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
Your Voice, Your Vote, Your Future is a youth civic education training program designed and supported by IFES. By supporting Myanmar’s youth to develop civic knowledge and critical thinking...
15 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
She Leads, a flagship program of IFES, works to empower women with the skills and knowledge to participate and take on leadership roles in political and electoral processes through a series of...
12 Dec 2017 | News and Updates
In 2011, IFES established the General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) across Southeast Asia. A creative partnership between disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and election-focused...
22 Nov 2017 | News and Updates
“She Leads” is a nationwide women’s leadership program developed by IFES and its Myanmar partner Yaung Chi Thit (YCT). The program works to address the lack of women’s leadership in politics and...
9 Nov 2017 | News and Updates
On October 12-13, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) held a Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) training on “Disability Rights, Media, and...
24 Aug 2017 | News and Updates
As Myanmar prepared for its historic 2015 general elections, IFES spoke with Nay Lin Soe, the articulate founder and CEO of the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative (MILI), to discuss the barriers...
14 Mar 2017 | News and Updates
As Myanmar increasingly becomes a more open, inclusive society, citizens have a need and desire to understand how their democracy works, what their rights and responsibilities as citizens are and how...
8 Mar 2017 | News and Updates
This International Women’s Day, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) reaffirms its commitment to involving women in political and electoral processes as candidates and elected...
16 Nov 2016 | Multimedia
SHE LEADS is a women’s leadership training program implemented by Yaung Chi Thit with the support of the International Foundation for Electoral System through a two phase training approach that began...
21 Sep 2016 | Multimedia
On September 13, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) held its seventh annual Charles T. Manatt Democracy Awards ceremony in Washington D.C. This event brings diverse groups of...
14 Sep 2016 | Multimedia
Myanmar’s 2015 election was a historic moment for democracy in the Southeast Asian nation. Ahead of the elections, Nay Lin Soe’s collaboration with Myanmar’s Union Election Commission, government,...
14 Sep 2016 | News and Updates
Nay Lin Soe, a disability rights advocate and Founder and CEO of the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative, received the 2016 Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award for his work advocating for the...
20 Jul 2016 | Publication
Following the historic 2015 elections in Myanmar, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) published five reports that provide important data on the accomplishments of the 2015...
3 Jun 2016 | News and Updates
IFES will honor Nay Lin Soe, a disability rights advocate and founder and CEO of the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative, with its 2016 Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award. This is the first...
2 Jun 2016 | News and Updates
During Myanmar’s historic general elections in November 2015, the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative (MILI), a disability rights organization based in Yangon, worked to ensure that the elections...
19 May 2016 | Multimedia
In this interview, IFES President and CEO Bill Sweeney, IRI President Ambassador Mark Green, and NDI President Kenneth Wollack discuss how CEPPS’ collaborated during recent milestone elections in...
10 Mar 2016 | News and Updates
On February 29 and March 1, 2016, the Union Election Commission (UEC) hosted the first-ever National Post-Election Conference in Yangon. With support from IFES and International IDEA, the UEC...
23 Feb 2016 | News and Updates
In this Q&A, IFES Myanmar Senior Election and Conflict Adviser Michael Lidauer discusses what led to the development of the Myanmar mapping project, the challenges in producing the maps, and...
16 Dec 2015 | News and Updates
A robust and dynamic civil society is a fundamental pillar of any democracy. In young and developing democracies, the active participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) is vital to ensuring...
24 Nov 2015 | News and Updates
On Election Day on November 8, Myanmar citizens demonstrated that they are enthusiastically ready for a democratic transition and they took to the streets to exercise their right to vote and have a...
10 Nov 2015 | News and Updates
Around the world, persons with disabilities face immense challenges to exercising their political and human rights, particularly in new and emerging democracies like Myanmar. According to the country...
9 Nov 2015 | Multimedia
On November 8, 2015, citizens of Myanmar went to the polls to vote for 1,171 representatives to Myanmar’s national Parliament and State and Region Assemblies, with some voters also electing Ethnic...
9 Nov 2015 | News and Updates
On the crowded, noisy street of Pyay Road in Yangon’s Ahlone Township, locals regularly shop at nearby stores while cab drivers sit in standstill traffic. On October 30, eight days before...
6 Nov 2015 | Multimedia
On November 8, Myanmar will hold general elections that are widely considered to be the most competitive in the country’s history. Over 90 parties and 6,000 candidates will vie for seats in the...
6 Nov 2015 | News and Updates
In Wun Kite village in Okkan township there is a buzz of excitement as villagers flock around the mock ballot box, learning about valid and invalid ballots and having a chance to practice casting...
2 Nov 2015 | Election FAQ
On November 8, 2015, Myanmar voters will directly elect representatives to the Amyotha Hluttaw, Myanmar’s upper house of Parliament; the Pyithu Hluttaw, Parliament’s lower house; and State...
15 Sep 2015 | Publication
On November 8, 2015, Myanmar will hold general elections. The 2015 elections will be an important milestone in Myanmar’s democratic transition. Approximately 30 million people are eligible to...
3 Aug 2015 | News and Updates
IFES has collaborated with the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative to raise awareness of the political rights of persons with disabilities and encourage their participation in the electoral process...
3 Aug 2015 | News and Updates
Since 2013, IFES has been assisting the Union Election Commission of Myanmar in its efforts to involve other key electoral stakeholders, such as civil society organizations, political parties and the...
31 Jul 2015 | News and Updates
Angelina Jolie met with the Yangon participants of the She Leads training program on her recent trip to Myanmar as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador. She Leads is a...
25 Jun 2015 | News and Updates
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has implemented the Women’s Election and Leadership Program in several countries to develop the capacity of women to participate in the...
4 May 2015 | News and Updates
On May 1, 2015, IFES, NDI and IRI met with Thura U Shwe Mann, Speaker of Myanmar’s lower house of Parliament, to discuss Myanmar’s democratic progress.
20 Nov 2014 | News and Updates
In Myanmar, there is a significant gap between men and women’s engagement in elections, politics and governance. There is much work to be done to ensure gender equality in the electoral process. The...
20 Mar 2014 | News and Updates
After five decades of military rule, Myanmar has initiated an ongoing process of democratic reform, opening new and significant political space. However, persons with disabilities in Myanmar still...